Modern American field weaponry, specifically its field rifles, as exemplified by the M-16 and AR-15 may fire rapidly. This generates intense heat in its barrel. If a user were to touch the barrel, severe bums may result. Thus, hand guards are provided and elaborate gas dissipation systems have been developed. Nevertheless, weapons must be disassembled for cleaning purposes. In the field, heretofore, this has usually required two or more personnel to remove the hand guards and hold the stock. Sometimes this may not be possible. Thus it would clearly be advantageous to permit a single person, the user, to dissemble the hand guards and thereby be able to clean the device. This problem has been dealt with by this invention.